What happens when a secret U.S. court allows the National Security Agency access to a massive pipeline of U.S. phone call metadata, along with strict rules on how the spy agency can use the information?

The NSA promptly violated those rules — “since the earliest days” of the program’s 2006 inception — carrying out thousands of inquiries on phone numbers without any of the court-ordered screening designed to protect Americans from illegal government surveillance.

The violations continued for three years, until they were uncovered by an internal review, and the NSA found itself fighting to keep the spy program alive.

Rob, Rob: you're from the United Kingdom. You're sitting on your arse. (Although you're now living in Spain, so I suppose you might be sitting on a donkey.)

Night night.

Jeremy

Oh well, that's a nice note (bum) on which to wind up the evening.

Actually, I just finished watching an old videotape I'd copěed years and years ago, which was something called The Real Sixties or very similar. It was about all the usual London suspects of the era, and hugely sentimental for me, but almost totally inaudible. A whistle and a garbled sound was the best I could get. But the visual side worked not too badly. Handsome dog, was Bailey, and Shrimpton was even more beautiful and photogenic than I remembered her to be. It was indeed a magical period in time, and I wish it had never gone away.

Ass or donkey - well, I'm no vet! Like so many things in life, I can't tell them apart.

I bet the makers of all those brown donkeys also wish that times had never changed, but perhaps Customs officials don't see it in quite the same light...